‘Blueberry OG’ Jeff Williamson Retiring After Decades of Service to the Industry
Bug of the Month
FEATURE | farm management
Why the USHBC Matters Now More Than Ever
Grower 411
FEATURE | for the crop
Farmers are no strangers to navigating uncontrollable and often unpredictable headwinds like inclement weather, labor challenges, and escalating costs, to name a few. While these pressures ripple through the entire blueberry supply chain, it’s the grower who absorbs the full impact. As the industry’s national trade association, the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) aims to serve as both a windbreak against those forces and a trusted partner to our growers when the winds are strongest.
The freeze event beginning January 31, 2026, was one of the most significant events in many years. Extremely low temperatures and dew points, along with high sustained winds, made freeze protection very difficult in many areas of the state, resulting in significant bloom and fruit damage.
Prior to the events of early February, Florida was positioned for a milestone year. Across the state, both evergreen and deciduous crops showed exceptional promise. We were prepared to enter a “hungry” market with high-quality berries and strong volume—momentum that was abruptly challenged by a historic “super-cooling” freeze.
Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an invasive pest introduced to Florida in 2009. It is common in all of Florida’s fruit-producing counties, and is active year-round, with peak activity from April to May when the blueberry harvest is highest. Although this is a significant pest of blueberries in Florida, it can be successfully managed with good cultural practices, proper monitoring, and appropriate pesticide applications.
This winter’s freeze event of January 31 – February 2, 2026 caused significant damage across the state to open blooms, developing fruit, and plants, creating opportunities for disease to develop. The applicable diseases include botrytis, anthracnose fruit rot, Phytophthora root rot, and Botryosphaeria stem blight. The first three will be briefly addressed, while the focus will primarily be on stem blight. The below article was initially published days after the freeze events and has been updated with seasonal progress to date.
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for April through June. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1363). Specific disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specific publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each.
It is part of our routine. We collect leaves in the middle of the summer and submit them to a laboratory (like the UF/IFAS Analytical Services Laboratory) to find out how our plants are doing. We get a result back: 1.2% N, 1.5% N, 2.0% N. But what does this mean? Like a doctor taking a patient’s temperature, test results are only meaningful when compared to a reference standard. 104°F is a fever. 97°F is normal. Knowing where the bar is set makes all the difference in how we interpret test results.
TUESDAY FEB. 10TH 9A-11A
Our newest premium variety, FL19-006, now has a name – ‘Sharper.’ The name is
In most of the state, blueberry bushes take the winter off. Whether they are managed as deciduous or evergreen plants, they do not grow actively during this period. This temporary stop in visible growth is called dormancy. Dormancy is a natural response to internal and external stimuli. Plants have two kinds of dormancies: endodormancy and ecodormancy. Understanding how each one works is important, because together they play a major role in determining when plants resume growth—and ultimately, when we harvest fruit.
